Tottenham Hotspur’s expensive rebuild began with a heavy defeat as Brentford swept them aside 3-0 at the Gtech Community Stadium in a one-sided opening Premier League match.
Spurs, who have spent about £237m during the summer and broken their transfer record twice, were outplayed by a confident Brentford side and failed to produce a single shot on target before half-time.
Tottenham’s spending spree was intended to prevent a repeat of last season, when they only secured their place in the top flight on the final day. Four of their new arrivals started in west London: defenders Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke, along with club-record £100m signing Sandro Tonali.
But it was Brentford who made the decisive early impact.
The hosts took the lead after 12 minutes when Keane Lewis-Potter was left unmarked in the penalty area. He was found by Mamadou Sangare, Brentford’s club-record signing this summer, and finished from inside the box.
Sangare was central to Brentford’s excellent start as they repeatedly exposed Tottenham’s defensive weaknesses. The home side doubled their advantage in the 33rd minute, with Vitaly Janelt following up to score after Antonin Kinsky had denied Mathias Jensen.
Brentford’s energy and movement caused Spurs constant problems, while Tottenham struggled to create any meaningful threat. Their first-half performance offered little sign of a response despite the size of their summer investment.
Tottenham manager Roberto de Zerbi attempted to change the momentum at the start of the second half by introducing £85m signing Mateus Fernandes and Rodrigo Bentancur. Conor Gallagher and Lucas Bergvall were withdrawn.
The changes did not prevent Brentford from extending their lead. Michael Kayode made it 3-0 when the ball broke to him after Kinsky had saved a shot from Sangare.
The visitors then came close to facing an even greater setback when Bentancur fouled Kevin Schade inside the penalty area. Referee Michael Oliver awarded Brentford a penalty, but Igor Thiago’s effort struck the post and rebounded to safety, with Kinsky having committed himself in the opposite direction.
That miss briefly spared Tottenham further damage, but it could not disguise the scale of their defeat. Brentford were slick, energetic and efficient throughout, while Spurs looked short of confidence and attacking ideas.
The result gives Brentford an emphatic start to the new Premier League campaign and leaves Tottenham with immediate questions over whether their major summer investment has addressed the problems that caused them such difficulty last season.
